How I Learned History From Countryballs

I first wrote about Countryballs in this blog in May 2021. Since then, I’ve watched many Countryballs videos on You Tube.

A side effect of all this video watching has been learning European history by osmosis. The fact that Countryballs are representations of nations naturally leads to a lot of Countryballs history-related videos - particularly as to wars fought on the European continent.

Yesterday was Lithuania’s Day of Independence from the Soviet Union, which occurred on March 11, 1990.

Before I became a Countryballs fan, I didn’t know where Lithuania was located on the map and if forced to guess, would probably have placed it somewhere near Bulgaria. Today, if you erased all the country names from a map of Europe, I could actually write in each country’s name from the Nordic countries in the north to the Balkans in the south. (Never let anyone tell you that watching You Tube is a waste of time...)

One of the best Countryballs content creators is No Idea Animation, a Lithuanian. He’s been largely inactive for the past two years but he did a lot of great videos before then, including one on Lithuania’s Day of Independence and what it means to Lithuanians.

Title: Lithuania - Day of Independence
Creator: No Idea Animation



He also did a video on the Winter War between Russia and Finland in 1939-1940. In 1939 Russia asked Finland to give up some of its land. Finland said no, and Russia invaded Finland on November 30, 1939.

The Finns fought the Russians with determination and ferocity (sound familiar? like the Ukrainians are doing today), but in the end they were a small nation that was outnumbered and outgunned by Russia.

A Finnish sniper named Simo Hayha was credited in the Winter War with an astonishing 500 Russian soldiers killed.

Eighty-three years ago today, on March 12, 1940, Finland signed the Moscow Peace Treaty in which they gave up some of their land to Russia. (And then they invaded Russia in June 1941 to get that land back, which they did and which they held until they were forced to give it back to the Russians in August 1944.)

Here is No Idea Animation’s video on the Winter War.

Title: The Winter War
Creator: No Idea Animation



As you can see, Countryballs videos run the gamut in terms of mood. Some are wildly humorous, while others can break your heart.

In the break-your-heart category, Juice Glass is one of the best Countryballs content creators. His epic Battle for Poland (1939-1940) and Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905) videos in particular are seriously harrowing in their depictions of war and its devastating effects.

This is his Winter War video.

Title: Talvisota - The Winter War
Creator: Juice Glass



We passed the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine a few weeks ago. Russia has been the common denominator in all of the videos discussed in this post, but it’s hardly as if Russia has been the sole aggressor in European history, a history that is long and deadly as far as warfare is concerned.

A cynic might say that with the Russo-Ukrainian war, Europe has merely reverted to form: it is at war again. I’m not knowledgeable enough about the history and I have no desire to be a cynic about anything. All I hope is that this war will be resolved in Ukraine’s favor and that there will be no need for an anniversary post about it when this time comes around next year.

The Russo-Ukrainian War

When catastrophic world events take place, each person interprets them through their own filter and every person’s experience and opinion exerts a certain influence on the world.

Looking at it objectively, as someone living in California, I have little to do with the current war in Ukraine. However, I lived the first half of my life under the influence of the Cold War and remember well the feeling that ‘something could always happen’ - that something being a nuclear war.

It was different back then. No internet, no smartphones, only newspapers and the same nightly news on TV that everyone watched because there were no other choices. The internet may seem like a crazy avalanche of unsolicited opinions most days, but I would take that any day over the dearth of choices we had back then.

What is happening in Ukraine, beginning with the Ukrainians themselves, is a tragedy, but huge groups of other people are also affected. The Russian conscripts fighting this unjust war and the Russian people who are being crushed by overwhelming sanctions. The former Soviet bloc nations in Eastern Europe. My own nation, the United States.

The macro filters further down through the micro. The Countryballs community has been riven by this war. Though Countryballs has a worldwide following, the majority of fans are in Europe and include Russians and Ukrainians.

One teenaged Countryballs video creator, Murfety, had to shelter with his family in a basement in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city located near the Russian border. He’s now a refugee. And my favorite mapping video maker, Cherepashka Shusha, who is Russian, posted this on his You Tube page:

The Greek Countryballs artist Icariaball posted a new video about the war.



Icariaball is one of my favorite Countryballs video makers. He hand-draws the balls, which gives them a particularly cute squishy look.

Mr. Spherical has also made a video about the war. His videos are usually zany and comedic, but this one is dead serious.



In the past year, between becoming a Countryballs fan and rewatching Hetalia, I’ve been focusing more than usual on world history. Americans are forward-thinking people. I think it’s one of our strengths. I mean, not that we should be ignorant of history obviously, but we like to look to the future rather than mull over or get stuck in the past.

In Hetalia, Russia is the most mysterious of the five WWII allies. England is blunt and irascible, America is an obnoxious but lovable idiot, China is cheerful and industrious, and France is an absurd romantic. But Russia is an enigma.

He’s basically bi-polar. He has brain damage from living for centuries under horrible rulers. Most of the time he’s a gentle giant, dreaming of sitting in the warm sunshine and gazing at sunflowers. But other times he shows casual cruelty like a child pulling the wings off a fly, unconscious as to what he’s doing. His face darkens and he yells “KolKolKol” and is terrifying to deal with.

In Hidekaz Himaruya’s Hetalia universe, Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus are siblings. Ukraine is the motherly eldest sister and Russia and Belarus are her younger brother and sister. Of course, since it’s Hetalia, it’s played for comedic effect, as Belarus is psychotic and has an obsessive incestuous crush on Russia, who is scared of her.

Here, North and South Italy are terrified of Russia, while crazy Belarus gives the brothers a death stare from the side.

Of course it’s Hetalia, so I’m not suggesting that the real Russia or Russians can be casually summed up in these psychological terms. Himaruya typically takes a couple of facts about a nation and then spins them wildly for effect, but it’s true that the Russian people have suffered for centuries under one terrible form of government after another, and it has affected them.

Someone once said to me: “First conflict, then meaning.” Change doesn’t normally happen without some kind of dissonance - a conflict - taking place first. Inertia and the status quo are too strong in most people’s lives and the people of a nation are the same way. I think Vladimir Putin will get his regime change, but not in the country he intended. It will take time - and further bloodshed. But I like to imagine Russia free and sitting in the warm sunshine with his sunflowers. It can happen. Let’s send light to all the dark corners of this conflict and give change a chance.

COUNTRYBALLS ATTACK!! and the Weird, Wonderful World of Mapping

I completely expected to have moved on from my momentary fascination with Polandball a.k.a. Countryballs by now.

You may recall my talking about Countryballs in my last post. Countryballs was this strange interest that I thought would pass, but instead, it’s become something I engage with literally every day. Each day I’m there watching my favorite Countryballs videos or looking for new ones on You Tube. I’m not sure how this happened, lol.

I’ll try to explain why this is starting to mean so much to me, but first, let me introduce you to some of the best Countryballs video creators.

Kaliningrad General is a Russian video creator who specializes in humor. Like nearly all Countryballs video creators, his videos focus on European history, especially World War II (more on that below).

He crams an incredible amount of detail into short videos that are little comedic gems. Here’s his take on the Friends intro, only with Balkan Countryballs.

Video Name: Jugoslav Friends
Maker: Kaliningrad General
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQxQDQi_8b4



The bit with Croatia giving the necktie to Slovenia is because the necktie was invented by a Croatian. And the Montenegro and Japan moment is based on those two countries forgetting to sign a peace treaty at the end of the Russo-Japanese War, meaning they were technically at war for 102 years before the mistake was rectified. It’s details like these (that go by so fast) that make Kaliningrad General’s videos so much fun to watch.

In another video, only 30 seconds long, he manages to speed-insult no fewer than ten nations re: their mistakes in WWII.

Video Name: EVEN MORE Oddly Specific/Random WWII Events which are Poorly & Stupidly Represented in ~30 Seconds
Maker: Kaliningrad General
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjdi2AC1qWo



If breezy satire isn’t your thing, here’s something beautiful and impressionistic.

Raphael Melki is a French Countryballs video creator. His videos are always artistic and lovely to watch.

Video Name: Polandball animation - Ode to Czech (Vltava)
Maker: Raphael Melki
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vY5FpTLprs



I love Czechia's dream-like remembrances of the past of fighting lost empires (before he – alas – wakes up and has to go to work...).

What is the appeal of Countryballs? Why is this like a new obsession for me?

Countryballs are balls covered in national flags. The only other feature on the balls are eyes. They are drawn or animated characters whose roundness and big eyes give them the cuteness and vulnerability of children. It disrupts your usual reaction to [insert your least favorite country here], slipping in under your defenses, thus allowing for a fresh presentation of countries and their histories as well as their relationships with each other.

An obvious topic is world history, particularly WWII, but often the cartoons and videos handle history that is way far back, centuries back. I’ve learned more European history in the last three months than in the rest of my life put together.

In watching Countryballs videos, I found myself sliding sideways into yet another new interest. It’s called mapping.

What is mapping? Strangely, there’s no general definition of mapping that describes the videos I’ve seen on You Tube, but here’s my own definition. Mapping videos are where a map - let’s say of Europe - is used as the background for animated moving lines and other graphics to tell a story. For example, for World War II, how the battles were fought, which divisions were where at what point in time, bombings, troop movements, etc.

You can imagine how people push the envelope in utilizing the concept. This is where you get the “What if the Axis Won WWII?” type videos, among other creative uses.

Countryballs and mapping videos are a natural crossover. The video that really caught my interest initially was the following. Made by Polish creator Lodzer HD Mapper, this video is really enjoyable to watch with its use of Countryballs (those darting eyes!) and music that is perfectly timed to highlight the beginning of battles. I watched it numerous times when I first came across it, and it cemented my fascination with mapping videos.

Video Name: History of Europe (1900-2021) Countryballs
Maker: Lodzer HD Mapper
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3J5BuJuxtTM



You may have noticed one of Countryballs’ conventions in that the balls are proportionately sized to show the country’s size relative to other countries. It’s just a visual image, but doesn’t Russia seem monstrous and scary at that size? It made me consider what living in Western Europe must be like with this huge pressure always looming from the east.

I could load this post with the numerous Countryballs and/or mapping videos I’ve come to love, but I’ll finish with this one. There’s no Countryballs in it. It’s a pure mapping video that maps out, day by day, the western front of the European theater of WWII.

Why do I love and admire this video created by Russian mapper CherepashkaShusha? I didn’t have much interest in WWII before all of this, whether it was the European or North African or Asian theater, but this video is just a masterpiece. The details, the music – from a war video game called Hearts of Iron IV – it literally feels like you’re watching a movie. It’s mesmerizing and even thrilling. CherepashkaShusha did a previous video on the eastern front which has over a million views, and that one’s good too, but this one on the western front is my favorite. When Germany invades Russia, it’s simply a jaw-dropping moment.

With this thirteen-minute video, I can save you some time. Watch this and if you don’t like it, then mapping videos are not for you and you can go on with the rest of your life without wondering if you’re missing something. ;-)

FOMO! Don’t let it get you. I think you’ll love this as much as I do.

Video Name: World War II - Western Front (1939-1945) - Every Day
Maker: CherepashkaShusha
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5PmZq-4eWg

*Watch this on the biggest screen you can manage



I’ll try to return to the main topics of this blog next time. Maybe I’ll actually discuss anime or manga again, lol. We’ll see...

The Return of Hetalia, Countryballs, and World Peace

And just when you thought things couldn’t get more divisive... Hetalia has returned for a new season! ;-D

For some anime fans, Hetalia was a flash in the pan years ago, one of those weird shows with five-minute episodes that you could safely ignore as niche and unimportant. Full of nations anthropomorphized as handsome young men, the target audience was clear, and yes, most of Hetalia’s fans are indeed teenage girls and young women.

Hetalia made a splash when it first came out. The creator, Hidekaz Himaruya, began Hetalia as a web comic series, which was followed by manga books and various anime series.

What made – and makes – Hetalia both hated and loved?

The original series, Hetalia: Axis Powers, set during World War II, features eight main characters: the Axis Powers – Italy, Germany, and Japan, and the Allies – America, England, France, Russia, and China.

Coming from a web comic format, you can see why Hetalia is an anime consisting of short episodes. Each episode is usually set up as a brief skit involving either the three Axis countries or the five Allied countries, and based on WWII events.

I was the copy editor for the first three volumes of the Hetalia manga for Tokyopop. It was one of the most difficult copy editing jobs I ever did for a manga, due to the fact that Himaruya put in a lot of historical footnotes that all had to be fact-checked.

At the beginning of the Hetalia fandom in the U.S., its female fans were notorious for being ultra-rowdy and screamy over Hetalia characters. The volume of fan-made merchandise overwhelmed the artist’s alley at all the anime conventions. For a time, Hetalia was hot in the anime world and it was everywhere.

Hetalia is a comedy series. About World War II. Written and illustrated by a Japanese creator. So... yeah. There were a lot of angry reactions to it at first, with many dismissing it out of hand without ever bothering to read a single web comic, manga volume, or watch a five-minute anime episode.

And that’s a shame, because the truth about Hetalia is that with its humor, its lovable characters, and its poignant moments – it’s about unifying people in the recognition that we’re all human and worthy of regard as such.

I stopped watching Hetalia quite a while back, and didn’t even know the anime had been continuing all this time until I read that Funimation was airing its latest season. So I’ve been catching up on the seasons I missed and enjoying Himaruya’s satirical world again.

On the heels of rediscovering Hetalia, in that odd way the universe has of bringing things of like resonance together when you’re on that path, I recently found a meme that is similar to Hetalia in its strange, humorous appeal.

One day back in 2009, a Polish guy on the Internet created a character image that was a simple ball covered in the Polish flag. Some Russians took up the idea, others got into it, and a whole genre of... something was born.

It’s known as Polandball, due to its origins, or in the alternative as Countryballs. Basically it’s the countries of the world drawn as balls made of national flags with eyes. As with all memes, certain conventions grew around the original idea. The U.K. ball is sometimes shown wearing a top hat and monocle, the America ball often wears sunglasses, the balls speak broken English unless they are English-speaking countries, and so forth.

Countryballs has a huge following on Facebook, Reddit, and other sites. I fell down the rabbit hole on You Tube (You Tube is nothing but rabbit holes, I have concluded). One video led to another, and I found myself spending too much of my time going from Countryballs video to Countryballs video.

The characters are unlicensed and freely available for anyone to use to create artwork, videos, and the like. As you might expect from that, the works made with Countryballs characters range from offensively racist and hatemongering to funny and harmless.

The meme reminds me of Hetalia in that its best use comes when people attempt to unify the audience in understanding other countries and their histories.

An example that genuinely touched me was a video in which modern-day Germanyball is at home one evening when his evil former incarnation Naziball pays him an unexpected visit, with a proposal for him. Note: for an animation of this sort, it has some pretty intense moments.

Title: Countryballs Animated #9 - The Greatest Enemy
Creator: LL



Like Germany, Japan invaded a huge number of its neighboring countries in WWII. When Hetalia first came out, most of the angry reactions came from those countries. I can understand that if Japan came in and killed and brutalized your citizens, a funny anime or manga about WWII probably isn’t what you want to see from a Japanese creator.

I understand it, and respect that opinion, but I also respect a creator’s right to go out on a limb and do the work he or she feels inspired to do. Himaruya received death threats at the beginning, but he weathered that storm, and his work continues.

If you still want to criticize Hetalia for even existing at all, you’re welcome to. But when you consider the virulent racist and misogynist works that exist out there, an anime about how we’re all the same underneath our surface differences is really pretty benign – even if it has to satirize WWII to do it.

Unless a work of art or entertainment spreads lies or incites violence, let it come forth. As simple as it appears, Hetalia has many layers to it, and the underlying intention of its creator shines through. As Germanyball says in the Countryballs video, let’s not forget about love.